Ubisoft
Ubisoft today announced that it would not be releasing an Assassin’s Creed game in 2016, bringing an end to the series’ yearly release schedule. This is a big deal for the publisher, as Assassin’s Creed has remained one of its most successful franchises, meaning that it stands to lose out on a significant amount of money this fiscal year as a result of it not being present on their release calendar. But just how much do they stand to lose due to this decision?
Our sister site GameRevolution put together a chart highlighting the amount of units the series has shifted since its first entry, and while it has been on the decline since Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, GR predicts that an Assassin’s Creed game launched on the PS4, Xbox One and PC would sell between five to six million units, pulling in around $330 million in total revenue. However, GR also points out that this number would be higher when taking into account DLC, microtransactions and merchandise.
But Ubisoft’s decision to rest the franchise is in no way a bad move from the company. With the series having been in decline since Assassin’s Creed Unity‘s woeful launch issues and ensuing consumer backlash, Ubisoft needs time to regroup and put its best efforts into the 2017 entry in the series. With its last release, 2015’s Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, having shifted just 4.12 million copies – less than a third of the series’ biggest seller, Assassin’s Creed III, which sold 13.05 million copies – it’s clear that AC needs some time off.
Hopefully Ubisoft will use the time added to the next Assassin’s Creed development cycle to provide the series with the return to form it needs, with this also giving them time to focus their efforts upon marketing the newly announced Watch Dogs 2, a series which the publisher has positioned as one of their most promising franchises of the future.
If you’d like to check out GameRevolution’s full breakdown of their math, then click right here.
